Bill Burke

"I don't understand the point of being overly pessimistic because, either way, you’ve got to try." Our program director @beatrice_erk recently joined the Blue Sky podcast, where she talked with Bill Burke about how we can stop dreading the future and start designing it. Some highlights: • Instead of thinking about feeling more fulfilled, we should focus on doing something meaningful. Resources like @80000hours can help people spend their career solving high-leverage problems rather than just worrying about them. • Data from experts like @_HannahRitchie and @HansRosling shows that we have the tools to solve problems like poverty and the climate. • We can do much better than avoiding a bad future. We can envision what a truly great future could look like, and then map the changes that need to happen to make it real. Listen for a good dose of grounded optimism ↓

➡️In March of 1973, a person sent a letter to the great E. B. White, expressing his bleak hope for humanity. White’s beautiful reply, found in Letters of Note, attempts to raise the man’s spirits.☀️ It's as relevant today as it was more than 50 years ago: North Brooklin, Maine, 30 March 1973 Dear Mr. Nadeau: As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness. Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day. Sincerely, E. B. White #MondayMotivation

He was channeling his inner @DavidGFool here, with mixed results 😉

Nostalgic for the 90s? Violent crime was far higher. Republicans shut down the government. The Rodney King riots killed 63 people. Genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda. The end of the Cold war decimated many industries. But @mattyglesias points out the most positive feature: the liberal vision of optimism about enlightenment and progress, well worth reviving. open.substack.com/pub/matthewygl…

If I had to pick a website that changed my worldview, it would be @OurWorldInData. We live in an era where the headlines are filled with negativity: the loudest voices paint a picture of decline, crisis and chaos. But what if we took a step back? (1/5)

Wow - what an honor, for Founder Bill's to be cited as an all-time great on Rule Breaker Investing. Thanks for sharing, @DavidGFool!

A must read! Behind the Curtain — Our holiday gift: Hope axios.com/2024/12/25/chr…

Magnetic Optimism: Blue Sky Podcast's @BurkeOptimist @OptInstitute meets @victorperton from @centre4optimism. Together, they explore how optimism shapes health, leadership, resilience, and the power to change the world for the better. 🎧 Listen now: 🔗 Centre for Optimism centreforoptimism.com/blog/billburke 🔗 Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/tha… 🔗 Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/1lpOmH…

Special thanks to my @RBIPodcast 2024 Besties external guests, all bright lights: @BurkeOptimist The Carrolls @Turner_Carroll @RandStagen Elaine Hungenberg @xprize Thanks for your wisdom, and for your Foolishness! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rul…

👀Look who's a guest on a podcast this week!👀 ➡️Yes, our own Founder Bill is featured on "Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People." 🎧Check it out, wherever you get your podcasts! (After you listen to 🟦Blue Sky, of course😉) #FounderBill #optimism

What if optimism was your greatest superpower? 💪 On Remarkable People, @GuyKawasaki chats with Bill Burke, founder of the @OptInstitute, about how practical optimism can inspire change and keep you grounded. 👉 episodes.fm/1483081827